Sasuke Doesn't Care
by Danniee
Summary: It wasn't like he didn't care, well. Actually he didn't. He didn't care, he didn't care so much it hurt. And because he didn't care, he couldn't bring himself to close the damn door.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto are not mine.**

**Pairing: SasuXNaru **

**This is a Mature fanfiction, thank-you!**

_Prologue:_

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><p>It wasn't like he didn't care, well. Actually he didn't. He didn't care, he didn't care so much it hurt. And because he didn't care, he couldn't bring himself to close the damn door. Instead Sasuke looked into the hopeful blue eyes of his neighbor, leant his arm against the doorway, then accepted the stupid paper that was being held out by a tanned hand. He could tell the smoke from his cigarette was bothering the shorter man, it drifted lazily between them, creating a barrier and wrinkling the other's nose. He simply lifted it to his mouth, inhaled as if he was dying, and let that deep husky taste swirl about in the depths of his throat, with the reassuring thought that he would definitely die of cancer. At least it wouldn't be a surprise. "Yeah, I'll look out for your cat." Stepping back, he grips the knob of his door, shutting it and effectively cutting off a reply. He lived alone in an apartment complex and happened to like it that way. Without company visiting, ever. The way Sasuke saw it, was that he was 34, and thus felt he had enough experience in those long years of life he had endured, to tell every single living thing to fuck off. Not that he got bothered often, just receiving the occasional visitor, like Naruto, the man with the missing cat who had just had a door shut in his face, namely Sasuke's door. … In Naruto's face.<p>

He had shut it, in his face, alright?

Yeah. Whatever. Giving the flyer a good look over, he shifted the cigarette between his lips and eyed the wide green eyes of the orange tabby in the picture, feeling unnerved. Like it was watching him….

He crumpled it up, barely giving the text on the paper a second glance, never less the contact information, and aimed it towards the direction of the kitchen. He wasn't sure where it fell, he didn't care.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto are not mine.**

**Pairing: SasuXNaru **

**This is a Mature fanfiction, thank-you!**

_Chapter One, rewritten:_

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><p>His fingers numbly pushed a chip to his mouth; Sasuke was propped up against the wall of his work place, eyes ahead, ass going numb from sitting on the uncomfortable pavement of the sidewalk. Lately he had been left to wonder, he really didn't question things often. …Or he liked to tell himself that, the truth was he did, he questioned things all the time. Like why he was 34, living in an apartment complex he didn't like, waking up everyday to a life he had little enthusiasm for. It wasn't like he wanted to die, he just needed things to look forward to, and a mental quick scan of the past year quickly told him he had nothing of the sort.<p>

His father still looked forward to him bringing home a respectful woman to marry, he got letters from the Uchiha household all the time. He had tried explaining the concept of cell phones to the older parts of his family, it hadn't worked out, although his elder brother was now addicted to Angry Birds. … That thought curled his lips, if only slightly, leaving him to look down as he chewed another potato chip. His original point was, he wasn't interested in marrying, he didn't even think he was the type to be… well, like his father. He didn't do families, or family time, he especially didn't deal with women unless forced. He was even reluctant to attend Uchiha reunions, never answered back letters or emails, and generally enjoyed not having any strings attached. He didn't see how that translated to himself being good husband material. Wiping greasy fingers on his bent knee, a sudden realization dawned on him, leaving his face marred with a frown. They, his family, were disappointed with him, even if they wouldn't say it. At this time in his life, he felt he couldn't fix it, he supposed he always felt that way; Itachi was a hard sibling to have. He admired his brother, the fact that he'd been able to start a multimillion dollar business with no help from their family fortune, and then marry the woman of his dreams was beyond impressive. His brother's wife was a fiery woman, who claimed she had possessed no interest in her husband for three out of the five years she had known him. The man had really been forced to wiggle himself slowly into her life, unlike most women, she hadn't even batted an eye at his success and money. Sasuke really respected her for that, he really respected his brother too. But he'd realized long ago he couldn't be Itachi, it had been a difficult thing to swallow in his preteen years. Now he felt he was more okay with that, in some ways. …. Shit, who was he kidding? It still really fucking sucked. Abandoning his snack for the pack of cigarettes in his jean pocket, he worked the rectangular box out, smacking the bottom until a stick finally loosened and hit his shoe.

He felt another's presence before he actually saw it, his dark eyes squinting as a shadow fell over him, leaving him to peer up at the face of his coworker. Kakashi's face was shadowed as the light from the sun poured in from behind him, it was nearly blinding. He was only able to properly see him when the lanky man took a slow, mind you, a deliberately slow, seat beside him. He seemed troubled, the bottom half of his face was captured by a grey bandana, leaving his hair to flop in his face, concealing one eye. Sasuke cupped a hand around the cigarette he'd captured between his lips, lighting it with a match that was quickly discarded. He decided he wasn't going to ask his coworker what was going on, he didn't care. A silence stretched between them. The sound of cars passing by them on the street was abundant, groups of people walked around them, the only acknowledgement they received from bypassers. Sasuke watched with disinterest the different pairs of shoes that came through, noticing a trend with the color red. He didn't know shit about fashion, his wardrobe was mostly plain T-shirts and pants that fit him around the waist just right, so that he wasn't pinched whenever he sat.

Neither of the men said anything, Sasuke exhaling smoke through his nostrils. Then it began to bug him, Kakashi was being too quiet, he knew that he, himself, didn't talk much, but that was rarely the case with Kakashi. The other man seemed to like running conversation by him, even if he never got much of a reply. He said the damn weirdest thing sometimes, over the years of working with him he'd come to accept that he was a pervert, first and foremost, and also that he liked to try and act as a sort of mentor towards him. Naturally it didn't work out, Sasuke wouldn't allow it too, even if the other man was older, (only by a few years), it didn't take much for him to realize that his coworker liked being an asshole, even if he was a friendly one. Inhaling sharply on his cigarette, Sasuke leant his head back against the bricks behind him, trying not to get too bugged out from the silence as he watched a plane pass overhead. It seemed to work, the nicotine sunk into him, the sight of passing clouds letting his mind roam.

The silver haired man sighed, briefly touching his messy locks, the sound pulled Sasuke from his thoughts. His dark eyes focused on the other man as his head turned to help him easier see the other's face, he found himself looking into the thoughtful eye of the person he had worked with for five years. Kakashi's hand dropped from his hair, curling against the bottom of the button - up shirt he was wearing. His brow wrinkled, observing the younger man's face, Sasuke's interest had clearly been piqued. "It feels so useless sometimes…" Kakashi started, the sentence lingering, muffled by the cloth covering his mouth. Sasuke's hand slowly rose to his lips, bringing with it his cigarette, his mind flashed back to his earlier thoughts, it did feel useless, almost all the time… The lanky man started up again only to trail off, "You know? It just feels like…" it was a thoughtful tone, his one eye refocused on the concrete between them. Dark eyes slid shut once, Sasuke found himself hanging onto every word that was being said, he knew what it felt like, he completely understood. Releasing smoke slowly through parted lips, Sasuke was willingly ready to inject himself into a conversation for once, "like-" he was cut off, "—like all we are is dust in the wind," it was relayed lyrically, punctuated by another sigh.

…..

…Asshole.

…..

With grit teeth, Sasuke ground his cigarette violently out on the bottom of his shoe, he didn't have to look to see the pleased expression on the other's face. "Shut up," he found himself snapping.

Now back behind the counter with a certain song on repeat in his head, he looked away from a poster advertising the new porn movie they had gotten with the same sort of disinterest most children had towards their science books. He had been employed at Icha Icha Paradise, an adult novelty store for a rough five years now, and still managed to maintain the same lack of giving a shit about working in a sex shop like he had when he had been hired. They got good enough business, he had seen and heard it all, which meant ushering groups of underaged teenagers out, being asked for advice on all sorts of sexual techniques, some of which he had to learn about from Kakashi, and the occasional show of pictures from someone's cellphone. At the moment the place was empty in terms of customers, he knew his coworker was off somewhere, stocking strap-ons, maybe wrestling lingerie onto one of the mannequins. He didn't care, finding himself longing for just one more cigarette break; he hadn't even had the stomach to finish his chips after the stupid bullshit Kakashi had decided to pull. Lowering his gaze, he picked at a piece of lint on the middle of his shirt, finding it to be still attached. He ripped it off with a dimming sort of satisfaction, leaving him to realize that he needed more hobbies in his life. He could….. all of the possibilities that ran through his mind were rather unimpressive. Fishing, pottery, origami, yoga, running, (not with his smoking habit). ….He snorted, checked the miniature digital clock to his left elbow and realized that his shift was over in five minutes.

A "Heeey," sounded off to his left, pulled from his thoughts, he looked up, taking in his coworkers' boots but not really registering them in his haste to meet the other's eyes. Rubbing the back of his head, Kakashi's eye squinted as he smiled, hidden by the bandana. "Take out the trash, kay?" In a matter of minutes he found himself behind the building, arms full of empty shipping boxes, chin tilted back to see over them as he awkwardly edged his way out the door towards the hulking form of the rusty dumpster that loomed in the distance. It took a considerable amount of effort to dump them in, he had to reach over his head to do it and ended up fumbling a few things, but it was done now. Covering his lit match with his hand, he held it up to the cigarette that was held firm between his lips, sighing deeply when it took and the nicotine hit him and settled deep in his lungs. He didn't hear it at first, too caught up in his own selfish musings, but when there was a loud crash to his right, he looked over.

What met him were two wide green eyes, set in the face of an orange tabby, who was peering at him over a bag of trash.

…Seriously? Fuck.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto are not mine.**

**Pairing: SasuXNaru **

**This is a Mature fanfiction, thank-you!**

_Chapter Two:_

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><p>Sasuke wasn't moved much by horror movies, the occasional gore he witnessed on TV, or even those commercials with those stupid sad animals… although he managed to always change the channel when they came on. But this cat terrified him, the fact that he was in charge of a living thing, even if was only until he could locate its owner in their apartment complex, made him wary. What did cats eat? He had attempted to give it a plate of eggs, had thrown a few pretzels at it in passing, but the feline seemed mostly disinterested. All it did was sniff the offending food, then lick its paw, or do something else that he found utterly useless.<p>

As he gazed lifelessly at the small television set in front of him, he realized he wished it could talk, like that dog that said 'I love you' on the internet. Instead all the damn thing did was meow to him. It would flick its tail, strut back and forth in front of his vision so that the tip dragged at the very bottom of the screen of his TV. Knowing that would make him look down, those freakishly large eyes would lock on his, causing it to wail. He knew that it was normal for a cat to meow, that wasn't what annoyed him. It was the meow itself; it was the single wimpiest thing that had ever graced his ears via an animal in his entire life. It was as if the tabby just couldn't get the full syllable out, it was quiet and breathy, a pathetic whine. He desired that it would just speak up, or speak English, so he could know what the hell it wanted.

It was his day off, he had already had the lost cat for one night, but despite the awkward thing shuffling about his apartment, he felt in no real rush to try and get it home. To sum it up, he was fucking lazy, and he was smoking, something he found much more important some than missing cat. He was perfectly happy wasting away his day by watching a marathon of Criminal Minds. He often liked to amuse himself with the thought that he could be an actor, or in the very least, he thought that if any of these situations ever happened to him, he would know who the bad guy was right away. In the back of his mind he knew he was wrong, but it still didn't stop him from blowing smoke out of his nose as he called everyone in the episode an idiot. The bad guy was getting away, Doctor Reed. Move your skinny ass legs and grab your gun…

Scratching his right ankle with his big toe, he sunk further into the cushions, the action nearly making him choke on his own cigarette smoke. He tried to play it off as cool, even though the only one there besides him was the cat. Maybe slumping this much _was_ bad your health. With his age he naturally felt old, although for the most part it was mental. He figured it was just life; his body didn't work as well as it had when he was twenty. It wasn't like he had completely deteriorated, he was just… slowly working his way to it. A barely audible mewl drew his attention away from his self centered thoughts. The feline was happy to have his focus, having tangled itself up in the black shoelaces of his sneakers. Gnawing on the middle of it, the cat slowly rolled onto its back, exposing a fluffy belly. Sasuke felt something in him turn it into a disgusting mush, okay. That was cute.

The next hour Sasuke spent doing something he would never admit to. Completely unlacing one of his shoes, he dragged the dark laces across the carpet of the living room, the dirty tiles of his kitchen, and even over the top of his couch. Seeing a furry face peeking around corners and stalking fake prey was something he never thought he would take delight in. By two o'clock they were exhausted, he'd return to the couch with his new friend in tow, who he let settle on his chest. His fingers found the perfect place behind the cat's ear, its purring turn out to be very therapeutic.

Maybe he didn't have to return it after all…

He rather liked the name William, or even Henry. Those were strong, strapping names. Although he had to admit they were very…. white, something he wasn't.

Eh. Whatever.

A good companion like this deserved a powerful name, perhaps….. Artemis if it was a girl, Zeus if a boy. It was kind of the colour of lightning…

Throughout his careless musings, he had failed to hear the repeated knocking on his door. Instead the sound had become a steady lullaby, his lips becoming heavy. It wasn't until whoever was doing it started really pounding that he realized what it was. Tucking the feline underneath his arm so that it wouldn't run out, Sasuke got to his feet with a long and very drawn out a sigh, he threw the door open.

"KITTY!"

….

That was a terrible name for a cat.

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><p>My anniversary is this Thursday, yay!<p> 


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